All-optical stochastic logic gate based on a VCSEL with tunable optical injection

Abstract

We study the dynamics of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with continuous-wave (cw) orthogonal optical injection from a tunable laser. We use the dynamical properties of polarization bistability and the interplay with internal or external noise to demonstrate numerically a reliable logic output to two logic inputs encoded in the optical frequency of the injected light. This all-optical configuration is more than ten times faster than the electro-optical implementation and has the advantage of operating at constant injection power.